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If you’re already a fan of BlackBerry Messenger
(BBM), we’ve got some exciting news designed to
make it easier for you to connect with your entire
mobile social network. BlackBerry plans to make
BBM, our wildly popular mobile messaging service,
available for the first time to iOS® and Android™
users this summer, (subject to approval by Google
Play and the Apple App Store, as applicable). This
means that, once available, you can welcome your
friends and family using these other mobile
platforms to connect over BBM and share in the
Team BlackBerry love.
As we’ve chronicled on our Inside BlackBerry blog for
some time now, BBM set the standard for mobile
instant messaging with fast and reliable service and
an added layer of engagement with delivered and
read statuses. You’ve shared with us your stories
about how BBM has kept you connected when it
mattered most to you. Upon release of the multi-
platform BBM service, you can broaden that real-time
connection to friends and colleagues on other
supported mobile platforms.
In the first version of multi-platform BBM, iOS and
Android users are expected to be able to experience
the following BBM features:
The immediacy of BBM chats
Multi-person chats
Voice note sharing
BlackBerry Groups, where BBM users are able to set
up groups of up to 30 people and share calendar,
photos, files and more
The team here at BlackBerry has definitely been
working hard to bring the much-adored BBM
experience to a wider group of mobile users. In a
recent press release at BlackBerry Live 2013, Andrew
Bocking, Executive Vice President, Software Product
Management and Ecosystem, at BlackBerry had this
to say:
“For BlackBerry, messaging and collaboration are
inseparable from the mobile experience, and the
time is definitely right for BBM to become a multi-
platform mobile service. BBM has always been
one of the most engaging services for BlackBerry
customers, enabling them to easily connect while
maintaining a valued level of personal privacy.
We’re excited to offer iOS and Android users the
possibility to join the BBM community.”
BBM Quick Facts:
More than 60 million monthly active users
More than 51 million daily active users who are
connecting with friends or colleagues an average of
one and a half hours every day.
BBM users send and receive more than 10 billion
messages each day, nearly twice as many
messages per user per day as compared to other
mobile messaging apps
Almost half of BBM messages are read within 20
seconds of being received; indicating how truly
engaged BBM customers are
Today, BlackBerry also announced BBM Channels, a
new social engagement platform within BBM that will
allow customers to connect with the businesses,
brands, celebrities and groups they are passionate
about. BlackBerry plans to add support for BBM
Channels as well as voice and video chatting for iOS
and Android later this year, subject to approval by
the Apple App Store and Google Play. If approved by
Apple and Google, the BBM app will be available as a
free download in the Apple® App StoreSM and
Google Play store. Additional details about system
requirements and availability will be announced
closer to the launch.
That’s some pretty big news, indeed. Be sure to
share your thoughts with us in the comments below,
who will be the first person from your extended
network that you introduce to BBM?